The present invention is directed to a scale for use with a fork truck or forklift. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a scale that can be mounted to a forklift and used to weigh loads placed on the forks thereof.
A forklift is a well known type of industrial machinery. Typical forklifts include a main truck portion that includes the engine/motor and other drivetrain components, a cab or other seating/control area for an operator, a mast that is raised and lowered via hydraulic power, a carriage that is connected and moves with the mast, and a pair of forks that are connected to the carriage and used to pick up and move various loads.
Forklifts can be found in virtually any setting where objects, particularly heavy objects, are moved on a regular basis. For example, in a factory setting, forklifts may be used to move various equipment or supplies of materials. In a warehouse or a similar setting, forklifts may be used to load/unload trucks or other shipping containers and to move pallets of goods into various storage locations, such as on storage racks.
In certain settings, it is desirable or necessary to know the weight of the load placed on the forks of a forklift. For example, when loading or unloading goods sold by weight, it may be desirable or necessary to weigh the goods while on a pallet or while associated with another shipping device. To this end, scales such as pallet scales are often employed. In use, a forklift operator transports a load to the scale, sets the load on the scale platform, and either lowers the forks sufficiently so as to offer no support to the load or withdraws to forks from the load such as by moving the forklift in a reverse direction therefrom. Once the weight of the load has been determined, the forklift is re-engaged with the load and the load is moved to the next destination.
While such a system and procedure functions to provide the weight of loads transported by a forklift, it can be easily understood that such a system and procedure is time consuming and requires captive floor space. That is, in addition to procuring one or more suitable scales for weighing loads of interest, each scale must be placed in a location having sufficient surrounding floor space to permit adequate access by a forklift. Further, the use of such scales adds an additional step to the transportation of every such load that must be weighed in this manner. Such an inconvenience might seem insignificant in the case of a single load. However, when the multitude of loads that must be transported and weighed in this manner are considered, it can be understood that such a system and method is highly inefficient.
To this end, weighing of a load while the load is supported by the forks of a forklift is a desirable capability. To this end, various scales for attachment to a forklift have been developed. However, all of such scales of which applicant is aware suffer from one or more deficiencies that render use thereof problematic. For example, certain of such known scales produce a significant blockage of the operator's view when the mast of the associated forklift is in a raised position—a position typically occupied by the mast during load transport. Others of such scales are difficult to install to a forklift and/or to adjust once installed. Yet others produce inaccurate readings for one or various reasons, such as due to flexure of the scale or to portions of the forklift to which the scale is attached. Still others require that a complicated and/or time consuming leveling procedure be performed subsequent to scale installation and prior to use. A scale of the present invention overcomes these deficiencies.